NEW YORK – If Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka is intimidated by the thought of facing Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and the big-swinging Angels on Sunday night, he’s keeping his thoughts hidden.

In fact, Tanaka, who’ll be making just his fifth Major-League start, sounded very much like a pitcher who is going to trust his stuff and whatever happens, happens.

And so far, what has happened has been nearly all good.

Tanaka is 3-0 with a 2.15 ERA. He has notched 35 strikeouts and walked just two batters in 29 1/3 innings. He has allowed four homers, including back-to-back home runs to Red Sox sluggers David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in his last start.

“I did know they were good batters but basically for all the teams, I’ve said this before, I’ve been playing in Japan the last seven years so to be honest, I’m not really familiar with any of the batters here,” said Tanaka through an interpreter about the Angels' lineup.

Asked if he has picked up any tendencies by watching video of the Angels, he said, “I can tell you that they’re really good batters. But the truth is, I haven’t had the chance to face them yet, so it’s hard to make any type of assessment.”

Tanaka, who went 24-0 last season in Japan, hinted that he’s more comfortable making adjustments on the fly rather than entering a game with a decided game plan.

“I feel it’s very important to look at the reaction of the batters and according to that, I decide what to pitch,” he said.

The numbers speak favorably to Tanaka’s ability to make in-game adjustments. Opponents are batting .314 against him during their first time through the lineup and only .149 after that.

Even so, it remains to be seen how Tanaka will do his second time through the league after hitters have had a chance to study him.